Thanksgiving 2015

It was our first Thanksgiving away from family and we were lucky enough to have family come to us! Nephi's parents drove up from Idaho Falls and spent the week with us here in Denver. We went to IKEA, watched Christmas movies, cooked (well, I cooked), ate, looked at Christmas lights, and Marlo played hard.

She must have played a little too hard because she ended up getting sick - saddest thing I have ever seen! She got sick in January this year at 4 months old and was just rhaspy and stuffy but didn't act very sick. This time, she was lethargic, cuddly, stuffy, sleepy, and did I mention cuddly? It was a whole new baby and although it made us sad, we were happy to cash in on some overdue cuddles from that baby. She got to a temp of 100 so we did a luke warm bath (she hates baths now apparently), essential oils, humidifier, diffuser with essential oils, and kept her in blankets all day. It was really only a day before we started seeing improvements - we survived! She is just about 100% now but still has been giving us some cuddles so I think she sees the value in them now :)

Don't get me wrong, I love to cook, but I think after doing all the cooking (besides the rolls) and all the dishes (Nephi helped a little bit) I don't know how I am going to cook anything this week. I am sure everyone feels the same way so I feel validated in my complaints. Also, we are ready for a major sugar detox! I ended up feeling a little sicky last night from all the junk food and lack of sleep from a sick baby so I stayed home from church with Marlo, took a long bath, drank lots of fluids, Nephi made turkey noodle soup (I made homemade turkey broth), and I am feeling better. Tomorrow will be rough though.

2015 Thanksgiving Menu:
Turkey - (18 lb. turkey that Nephi's parents got for free) Squeezed a fresh lemon over it, rubbed it with fresh rosemary butter and stuffed with onions, apples, rosemary, and lemons - I will repeat this every year!

Stuffing - I have never made homemade stuffing so I read through the basics of making it but made up my own recipe. I made homemade multigrain bread (dried it out in the oven), added italian sausage + ground beef, celery, onions, fresh parsley and fresh rosemary. It was SO good, but, next time I won't cook it as long in the crockpot.

Crockpot Mashed Potatoes 

Sweet Potato Souffle from @cleansimpleeats on Insa - SOOOO good and healthy (except I did rice krispy cereal with butter + brown sugar on top so that part wasn't so healthy)

Gravy (Nephi's specialty)

Connie's Rolls

Veggie Platter

Apple Crumble Pie (my Mom's recipe and SOOOO good and quick to make!)

Pumpkin Pie with the best crust

Also - for breakfast I made this banana pumpkin bread (minus the glaze) - can you tell I love this food blogger? She's my fav.

Nephi did such a great job carving the turkey! It was a big one - 18 pounds! But I am so happy to say that it did NOT burn and that we used the leftovers to make turkey broth (I ended up making 8 cups) and used that in our turkey noodle soup today. PS - If you aren't making broth with your leftover carcasses, you are missing out! I am a believer now. 

Got out the fancy dishes. We got this set for our wedding and it still looks great - timeless.

Fun group picture - thank goodness for self-timers on our iPhones! We loved having time with Boyd and Connie. 

This was Marlo pretty much all day on Friday. Whoever was holding her she was cuddling. 

It was weird to decorate a new space for Christmas (after being in out other place for 3 Christmases) but we are happy with how it turned out! We love our mini tree. I am so happy we don't have to haul a huge tree and store it with us wherever we go. And every year I get a few new ornaments and this year I found them in the dollar spot at Target! They are actually present tags - they are the perfect ornaments too for pretty cheap (they came 2 to a pack). So I'm using almost all my ornaments from the past 4 years and I have kept them matching and timeless colors and style to use for our future big tree OR just use it on this tree in a different part of the house. 

Drove to downtown to look at the light on all the buildings! This was our favorite one. When you come visit us (When I say you I mean my Mom because she is the only one that reads this) we will take you downtown and it will remind you of a mixture between San Fran and NYC - I love it.

My sweet sicky baby. Let's pray she doesn't wake us up a million times tonight...

Bunco Night

In Idaho Falls we used to have a group of girls that played bunco every month and it was my favorite! I loved the time I had to be around other women and loved the game - it's easy and literally anyone can play it and that's MY kind of game.

I got a few of the ladies I have met here (who I LOVE) to come play with me this week and it was a blast! We only ended up with 8 girls but we played anyway and I think everyone loved it. Hopefully we will be able to keep it up for a monthly or even every other month tradition!


I decided to do a waffle bar because I reeeeeaaaaallllly wanted to make some liege waffles after I had some legit ones in AZ. Not quite the same, but pretty close!

Toppings: PB, Nutella, Whipped Cream, Syrup, Buttermilk Syrup, Salted Caramel Sauce, Berries, Chocolate Chips, Sprinkles, and Cinnamon Sugar. 

The black paper is chalkboard wrapping paper from the dollar section at Target. I may never do a buffet any differently - it was perfect. 

And of course a blog entry from me wouldn't be complete without pictures of my Mina (new nickname, don't know where I came up with it but she responds to it now). 

We went and hung out with some friends on Friday night and had dessert and Marlo flirted with her friends Milo and Tyler - she loved it. I got these boots for her this summer and they *almost* fit! They make her look so old though! 

Snaps from Nephi are the best.

Went to Burger King with Daddy and loved it! All the workers kept coming up to her and giving her toys and the crown and couldn't get over how cute she is - that's my Mina!

Wrapping Up Summer

We wrapped up our summer by dragging it out as long as we could. While everyone started busting out the pumpkin spice, we took a trip to the pool, hit up a Rockies game, and have been on walks every day to soak up the beautiful weather! Long live summer!

I had the opportunity to work an event in the Bahamas through a company that a friend of mine started. They needed some event planning experience and I am glad I could help out! I mean, fiiiiiine, I will go to the Bahamas if you make me ;) 

It was crazy (read: expensive) to get my passport in order and then book flights. I was a little hesitant to leave Marlo with Nephi, but his schooling is such that he does most of it online and had to put Marlo in daycare only 2 times for him to go to campus. Also, there was no question in Nephi's mind that I should go. A little of it was networking, a little was to earn some money, and then a lot was just for me to get back in the event planning game considering that I have taken some time off to do other work. I LOVE it and hope I will have future opportunities to keep doing so. It keeps me sharp. 

These 2 did just fine without me! In fact, Marlo had a rough 2 weeks after I got back with all the transitioning but turns out she is teething (still is). So grateful for a supportive hubby like Nephi. There is no one else like him! 

ONE!

Marlo is ONE! 

We celebrated in AZ a few weeks early so we could be with family. The theme was kind of polkadot, but not to structured. We had flatbreads, salad, desserts, and of course Marlo had her smash cake! She was giddy all night until we put her to bed. She loved all the attention and love!

I just made a simple smash cake - a banana bread cake so it didn't have a lot of sugar - with can frosting. She kind of got into it but mostly just liked playing with the frosting on her fingers! 

Please. She is the cutest. We had to do a little modeling for some bloggers that sent us that bib and headband. I have to resist the urge to buy her all the cute stuff so it's nice to get a few things for free from our favorite shops! 

Did a fun photo-shoot at Kendall's new house with her nice camera and I loved how it turned out! We got a ton of great pictures. She was being so smiley and cooperative! 

The day of her birthday in Colorado we woke her up by putting balloons in her crib! She was so confused, like, "Hey guys, this is not suppose to be in here," and she started throwing the balloons out cautiously. So funny!

Made her favorite pancakes and added some sprinkles. 

We headed out to IKEA and then to lunch. Such a happy baby!

How did we get so lucky to get this sweet girl? I hate to say that our life started once we had Marlo (like many people say) because I personally don't feel like it did. I felt that more at marriage, but with Marlo's birth I felt a bigger change within myself and a major enhancement to our already beautiful life. I remember wondering what she would look like and now I feel like we've always known her and what she looks like. No doubt she is our baby - everyone says she's a 50/50! I would say it's the same personality-wise; she's outgoing and social like me, and curious and kind like Nephi. And then there is a little of Marlo - the cautious but daring, sweet but sour, fragile but strong, little girl that we adore. Every phase gets more fun and we can't wait to grow up with her! 

And of course, it was my "Mommy Birthday", too. I get the chills when people use the phrase, "my baby that made me a mommy," because I know that feeling now! I know why my Mom has a special little affinity towards her first-born - I will always have that for Marlo. And although I am very hard on myself, I feel proud of my accomplishments as a mother. My skills and talents have been exercised just as much as my weaknesses have, and I have Heavenly Father to thank for that. 

Juicy Engagements

Last weekend (April 26) my one and only brother Sheridan got engaged to his darling lady Tiffany! To say we are ecstatic would be an understatement. They are perfect for each other and we couldn't be happier that Sheridan found Tiffany. She is also a perfect fit for our family. We love her!

Marlo loves her Tiffany! 

It was so fun to be here and celebrate with them. It was also Tiffany's birthday so we had a dinner for her on Sunday and then just played games. They are such a fun couple!

I borrowed a friends juicer to juice these oranges my parents brought us from AZ. (Confession - I didn't even end up using the juice. Long story.) And while I was at it, I whipped out the Nutribullet (which I LOVE) and blended up some green beans and sweet potatoes for Marlo. She doesn't love them because they lack a little flavor but I actually just consulted with a doctor and he said not to add any flavoring and that she will eventually come around. (NOTE: I did mix the sweet potatoes with some apple sauce the other day and that kind of worked.) 

Speaking of juicy...isn't she the yummiest!? I always know when the nap was long enough when she is so happy when she wakes up. I showed my Mom this picture and she was like, "Aren't you worried about her crawling over and jumping out?!" Nephi and I kinda scoffed at that because we thought there is NO WAY Marlo is strong enough to do that yet - I had to help her stand up in this picture. And lo and behold, Marlo literally started pulling herself up in her crib today. In fact, just right now as I am catching up on the blog and trying to get her to nap she keeps sitting up and pulling herself up. She can't quite get up all the way but she is close! Looks like we have to lower the crib.

Rachies Graduation + Family

Rachel graduated from BYU-Idaho 2 weeks ago with her bachelors degree in journalism! It's been so nice having her in Idaho and although we are sad to see her go, we are really proud of her! I always get so excited for people to graduate from college. It's a big accomplishment and worth every minute and penny!

It was fun to have family in town. We went to frozen custard with my Dad (both his + my favorite), sat around and talked, and my Mom put Marlo to bed each night - which was so awesome because Marlo went down so easy for her. Often I find myself coveting people who have their family in town and Sunday dinners and all that support and babysitters - then I remember I DO have that! My parents visit us more than we visit them, and then I have siblings here. I feel pretty blessed.

Marlo has a fascination with Uncle Zach. She just stares at him when he plays with her, ha! So cute. 

Marlo and Great-Grandy. He is one of the best men I know and I am grateful to call him my "Grandy"!

2014 in Review

Since we haven't posted in a year and a half...we thought we would break down what happened each month of 2014 and create a clean slate for 2015 blogging!

PS - All the links are the vlogs that Nephi has made about those particular events. We stopped bloggin', but kept vloggin'!

JANUARY - Found out we were pregnant! See me take the pregnancy test! (Well, not actually "take" the test, but wait outside the bathroom with Nephi and see my face white with shock.) We went to AZ to tell my parents and get out of the winter for a few days.

FEBRUARY - Revealed that we were having a baby! Shocked an awed almost everyone, especially our families. I traveled my last week of my first trimester for work to Denver and then onto Orlando. What a trip!

MARCH - Went to a Utah Jazz game with some coworkers. This was the second time we have been able to go and get the CEO's floor seats! It's an incredible opportunity.

APRIL - Celebrated our 3rd Anniversary! Also, Mom visited for Easter and was here when we found out that we were having a GIRL! Oh, and we went to see Ellie Goulding in concert with Tim and Kira. It was around the time that Marlo starting getting super active kicks and she jammed out with me and I was on my feet for 2 hours and didn't die.

MAY - Smith Family Reunion in Oceanside, CA. Nothing better than being on the beach with your whole family! Spent a few days in AZ where Emily, my Mom, and Jean Coates put together a gourmet baby shower - seriously gourmet.

JUNE - I went to Philadelphia for work and fell in LOVE! Also, being 6 months pregnant and travelling has it's perks. I got to skip a huge line in the bathroom at the airport. It was awesome.

JULY - Nephi and I both got new jobs! Major blessings. Also, my awesome sister-in-laws hosted a darling baby shower for me.

AUGUST - SOLD my car and BOUGHT a new car! Just in time for a new baby.

SEPTEMBER - Had our annual Eastern Idaho State Fair trip at almost 9 months pregnant AND Marlo Ingrid Guymon made her appearance 4 days late - September 7, 2014 (6 lbs. 9 oz.). Meet Marlo! My parents came and of course we had Nephi's family in town to welcome this cute little babe.

OCTOBER - I enjoyed maternity leave with Marlo and she celebrated her first Halloween as our little ducky.

NOVEMBER - Traveled to Spokane to spend Thanksgiving with Neal, Angie & Grayson! Had a blast and Marlo was a super traveler.

DECEMBER - Went home and had a sunny Christmas in AZ and a beautiful wedding for my baby sis, Caitlin.

Being pregnant almost all year will always make 2014 a special year for me and Nephi. Not only did we welcome a healthy baby girl, but we grew as a couple and literally as a family. Here is to another great year!

He's Graduated!

 

 So proud of my guy.

Check out the vlog!